If you Google Skye, you’ll find this description of the island:

The Isle of Skye, connected to Scotland’s northwest coast by bridge, is known for its rugged landscapes, picturesque fishing villages and medieval castles. The largest island in the Inner Hebrides archipelago, it has an indented coastline of peninsulas and narrow lochs, radiating out from a mountainous interior. The town of Portree, a base for exploring the island, features harbourside pubs and boutiques.

Travel websites suggest that you need a minimum of 2-3 days to explore this island—we had only one, today! Guess what, I think I took twice as many photos as usual, and I’m hard-pressed to find my favorites!

First off, though, we had to take a ferry from the bustling port of Mallaig. Our bus was one of two tourist buses which drove onto the dock, along with several dozen cars.

As we crossed over to the other side we could see not only steep mountains but also waterways, creating many mirror images like those below.

We drove to the Old Man of Skorr, a steep rocky hill with a symbol of male reproduction!

This is how we saw it, which was taken from a different perspective from most tourist brochures, as seen below.

After lunch we made a stop at a pretty bridge where I saw two men in kilts and asked permission to take their photos.

Our next stop was the Eilean Donan Castle, which was recently restored but truthfully, had a more interesting exterior than the interior. Besides, they didn’t allow any photography inside, so you’re not missing much!

The best thing about our visit here, though, was that there was a bagpiper just outside the castle. I was able to talk to him about fingering, repertoire, ornamentation and rhythm. I was especially intrigued to learn about pipe bands where there are 20 players all playing in unison and in rhythmic precision. Everyone needs to count!